


in the dark

by mullethyuck



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Twilight Fusion, M/M, Mild Blood, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Lovers, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28168161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mullethyuck/pseuds/mullethyuck
Summary: In which Renjun is new in town, old secrets are uncovered, and Jisung's world gets upended in the process.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Park Jisung, Lee Jeno/Zhong Chen Le, Mark Lee/Na Jaemin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> every year around this time i break out the twilight [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vM4cPUepExNsAP7sunTKZ) because winter is vampire season, and of course that got me thinking about fic ideas so it was only a matter of time before i caved (i [warned](https://twitter.com/mullethyuck/status/1339645240777580556) y'all this would happen, but i didn't think it would happen quite this fast)
> 
> shoutout to [addy](https://twitter.com/hoelistic98) for the casting of rensung as bella and edward, and as always my heart belongs to [mash](https://twitter.com/sungchanery) for once again listening to my rants and cheering me on like no one else <3 love you both!!
> 
> this is really just me reliving my middle school obsession i have nothing else to say about it let's go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apastron: The point of greatest separation of two stars.

The sun is shining directly overhead as Jaemin’s designer loafers hit the ground beside Jisung.

The leaves crunch under his feet, a warm breeze tousling his expertly dishevelled hair. Jisung’s always wondered how Jaemin constantly looks so put together―even now, his face is smeared with red, but not a drop of it found its way onto his cashmere sweater. The sunlight hits his cheekbones under all the blood, and the rays refract off of his skin, glittering under the light. His eyes are a dull red, scabbed over; to the human eye, they’d look almost brown. Jisung is not human, so he can see the crimson undertones, but he also knows this is the closest to human that Jaemin’s eyes will ever look. He’s sated, for now. Jisung is too, knows that his own eyes match his brother’s. He wonders how long the colour will last this time.

Jaemin drops down onto the log Jisung’s sitting on, leaning back to bask in the sun while he still can. It’s only a matter of time till the rainy season picks back up, and they’re doomed to another year of suffering through gloomy days and even gloomier high school classes they’ve already aced countless times. Sometimes Jisung wonders what his existence would be like if he’d turned when he was thirty instead of seventeen. Sometimes he’s grateful he never has to grow up, but the eve of a new school year is not one of those times.

Jaemin doesn’t say anything; he doesn’t have to. _You ready for tomorrow?_ Jaemin thinks, and Jisung hears it loud and clear. He shakes his head. _Me, either._

“At least you’re nearly done,” Jisung says out loud. “I’m only a junior, which is the worst year. I have to pretend to apply for colleges I’ll never go to and learn more useless things I’ve known for decades.” He pouts for emphasis, but Jaemin doesn’t feel all that bad for him.

 _I did it last year. Your turn,_ he thinks, and stills. Jisung sees the vision in Jaemin’s mind almost as soon as Jaemin himself does: Donghyuck and Jeno, running off into the woods in pursuit of a particularly large bear.

Jisung looks off to his left, finding Mark and Chenle mid-competition to see who can drain a deer faster. He scans the rest of the clearing they’re sitting in, but his other brothers are nowhere to be found. Sure enough, Donghyuck and Jeno have run off somewhere, as they are wont to do. Jaemin’s visions are never wrong―not when he has them, at least. Nothing is ever set in stone, not even for them. Maybe _especially_ not for them.

“Jeno never did get over that bear mauling,” Mark says as he appears out of nowhere, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, properly staining his favourite hoodie. He sits beside Jaemin, moving to throw an arm over his shoulders out of instinct, but Jaemin catches him by the wrist before he can ruin the creamy fabric. Mark opts to tangle their fingers together instead, and Jaemin smiles.

Jisung ignores Jaemin’s internal romantic musings in favour of replying to Mark’s astute verbal observation. “Would _you_ forgive a bear so easily?”

Mark shrugs. “That’s not the bear that nearly killed him,” he points out, ever so perceptive. “But he’s gotta eat, anyway. Might as well let him get his fake revenge.”

It amazes Jisung sometimes, how easily Mark slipped into modern vernacular. It’s like he was born two centuries too soon, and he’s finally found his place; Jisung would rather be caught dead than say something as base as “gotta,” but Mark doesn’t even do it to keep up pretenses. It just comes naturally to him, like some weird sixth sense. Jisung wonders if it has something to do with Mark’s uncanny ability to feel the emotions of those around him―if he’s more in tune with modern society because he relates to it in a way the rest of them can’t. Even mind reading only helps so much, if Jisung doesn’t understand the slang they’re using. At least Mark tones it down when it’s just the six of them.

Chenle comes over then, wedging himself between Jisung and Jaemin. He leans on Jisung’s shoulder like he always does after a large meal, and Mark clicks his tongue in disapproval. “I told you that deer was too much.”

“And yet you let Jen go after a fucking bear,” Chenle retorts, snuggling into Jisung’s side despite the fact he offers no warmth. It doesn’t matter anyway, since even the cool autumn air feels warm to them.

Mark rolls his eyes. “You know that I have no control over what your boyfriend does,” he counters. “And even less control over Hyuck,” he adds as an afterthought. He’s not wrong, really. Donghyuck has been around longer than any of them by far, and even if he hadn’t, they probably still wouldn’t be able to rein him in.

 _Speak of the devil,_ Jaemin thinks just as an image of Donghyuck and Jeno returning to the clearing flashes through his mind. It only takes a few more moments before they arrive in the flesh, eyes dimmed to that muddy red colour they’ve all come to possess. It’s been a good hunt today, and Jisung is grateful for it.

“What are you saying about me?” Donghyuck asks as he stops in front of Mark, looming over him, blocking out the sun so Mark’s skin returns to its usual pallor. He’s not as intimidating as he thinks he is, but Mark averts his eyes anyway.

“Only that you’re an uncontrollable menace,” Jaemin says, just to encourage Donghyuck’s shenanigans and agitate his boyfriend in the process. If Mark had any blood coursing through his veins, he’d be blushing right now. _Sometimes I wish I could’ve seen him when he was human,_ Jaemin thinks, and Jisung actively blocks out the rest of that train of thought.

“He’s right,” Jeno says simply, too busy running a hand through Chenle’s windswept hair to be too emotionally invested in the conversation.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Donghyuck says primly, sitting down on the end of the log.

 _You would,_ is the collective mental response to that, but no one says anything. Or at least, not in acknowledgement of Donghyuck’s specific brand of confidence. “So, who’s gonna flunk out of school this year?” Chenle asks, like he does every year.

“No one, love,” Jeno replies, like he does every year. “If we get held back, we have to stay longer.” He’s still petting Chenle’s hair, the rhythm of it soothing in its consistency. Jeno’s always been so consistent.

Chenle groans, but it’s Jaemin who says, “We should stay here as long as we can, anyway.”

Mark nods. “Really milk it for all it’s worth, y’know? Where else are we gonna find such ideal weather?” They all look up at the sun, knowing it won’t last long. Mark is right; a rainy season the likes of which Forks sees on a regular basis is hard to come by. Plus, it’s nearly always cloudy. It’s convenient, if a little dreary.

“You’re already pretending to be younger than you are,” Jeno tells Mark like he doesn’t already know that.

“Only by a year,” Donghyuck points out as Mark says, “We’re all pretending to be a _lot_ younger than we are, if you wanna get technical about this.” Jeno just blinks at them.

“The real question is,” Jaemin starts, “What are we doing next year?” Sometimes they stay a year or two past graduation to wait for Chenle and Jisung, who are perpetually a year behind, but other times they grow tired of their surroundings and move on as soon as possible. It’s a toss up, this time, really.

“Can’t you see?” Chenle asks, like Jaemin has some crystal ball to gaze into that will unlock all of the future’s secrets.

“Not if we haven’t decided yet,” Jaemin reminds him as if he hasn’t had this gift as long as Chenle’s known him. “Which we should probably do soon. I don’t think I can endure another freshman year of college.” He thinks back to the last time he went to college back in the 90s, and Jisung really doesn’t need that mental image. He shudders, and it’s not even his memory. Maybe he is glad he’s a year younger than most of his brothers, for all practical reasons. He’s only been to college a couple of times, and he’d like to keep it that way. It isn’t all it’s made out to be.

They all shrug with various levels of intensity. “You could get odd jobs,” Donghyuck suggests. “Or just a gap year. Say you need to work on yourself, or something.” He’s used that line on more than one occasion―it really only started becoming effective recently, with the uprise in mental health awareness. Donghyuck is determined to use it at any opportunity he can get, for some reason. Vampires can’t exactly be depressed; their brains can’t have a chemical imbalance if their brains don’t produce any chemicals to begin with. And if anyone was going to have mental health problems, it would be Mark, considering the fact he’s felt its effects before. It’s one of the cons of being an empath to the nth degree. The pro, of course, is that he can help. He can’t cure a disorder, but he can alleviate the burden a little. Jisung thinks he’s amazing for that.

“We can figure it out later,” Jeno says, pulling Jisung out of his head, because they’re getting nowhere anyway. “Let’s see how this year goes first.” Jisung doubts this year will be anything revolutionary, as nothing of note ever happens in Forks. (Except for maybe the appearance of a family of vampires, but the humans don’t even know about that, and it’s not like Jisung is all that impressed with it, either. His brothers are all idiots, and definitely not a threat to the humans, even if they have every right to be.)

 _I have an odd feeling about this,_ Jaemin thinks, and Jisung can tell it’s meant for him. He meets Jaemin’s eyes, tilting his head ever so slightly in a silent question. _No vision,_ Jaemin clarifies, and Jisung relaxes. _I just have a hunch this year is going to be extraordinary._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long notes but i have a few more disclaimers:
> 
> \- the plot follows the source material pretty closely in the beginning but that will change later on  
> \- speaking of changes, i'll add more tags as we go so keep an eye on that  
> \- this is my first longfic so the chapters will probably vary in length,, i'll try to keep it somewhat uniform but please bear with me  
> \- i'm hoping for weekly updates but i have fests and stuff so that may not happen as consistently as i'd like (i will do my best!)  
> \- comments fuel me so if you wanna see more of this incredibly niche nonsense let me know (here or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/mullethyuck)/[cc](https://curiouscat.me/mullethyuck)) and i will probably write faster lmao
> 
> anyway renjun shows up next chapter!! stay tuned <3


End file.
